Standard Prevention Interventions
At every scheduled visit, subjects received a com- prehensive package of prevention services, in- cluding HIV testing, risk-reduction counseling, condoms, and diagnosis and treatment of symp- tomatic sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea and chlamydia urethritis, syphilis, and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). In addition, at 24-week intervals, subjects were screened for asymptomatic urethritis, syphilis, antibodies to HSV-2, and genital warts and ulcers; treatment was provided when indicated. Sexual partners were offered treatment of sexually transmitted in- fections that were diagnosed in the subject. Sub- jects were linked to local prevention and treatment services when required to receive standard-of- care services. All subjects were instructed to pro- tect themselves from HIV with conventional meth- ods, since they were unaware of their study-group assignment. Subjects who reported a recent unprotected exposure to an HIV-infected part- ner were referred for postexposure prophylaxis (at sites where such therapy was available), and the administration of a study drug was tempo- rarily suspended. Vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) was offered to all susceptible sub- jects.